Let's look at this draft dodging thing in a slightly different light.
1. VN was a very long time ago. Ted is five years older than I, so first I want to give him the benefit of years when I make these statements.
2. I, being raised in western Ky, and not being one to participate in discussions on current events and politics, would have gone blindly to the army if drafted and like most, done what I was told to do. That was patriotism and this eighteen year old boy understood it. Had I been keeping my ears open, learning what the VN war was really about and identifying and understanding the lies that put us and kept us there, my view would have been different.
3. During that time, Ted was a kid and had not truly begun to form who Ted has become. We are all guilty of poor judgment somewhere along the way. If in fact Ted did befoul himself to avoid the draft, he has more than made up for that in the role that later became his activist life. He is a patriot.
Think of it as someone who was agnostic, or atheist being saved and becoming an evangelist. Life changes people, people then change lives.
4.Lastly, if the story is true, then I see it as he found a way to make himself undesirable, risking acceptance, but being refused. He did not run and hide. He made a stand that basically said, "here I am, this is what I think of your politics, I'll go if you want me but "do you really want me?"" He did not run to Canada and hide. That's not dodging, that's just down right creative. The other popular cop out was claiming to be gay.
Let's just send VN back to the sixtys where it belongs.
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